![]() “She said the traditional way is not going to stop us. “This was distinctive about her,” Sonenshein said. George Deukmejian said he would veto her future bills. She rallied the mostly Latino residents against the project, “digging in her heels,” Sonenshein said. Women in politics in LA County owe a debt of gratitude to Gloria Molina.” Digging in her heelsĪ seminal moment came in the early 1980s when she led the opposition to a state prison proposed in East Los Angeles. “She didn’t just make space for herself - she opened the door to the rest of us. “It takes courage to be the first woman in the room, and Gloria was the first woman and first Latina in nearly every room she was in,” said Fourth District Supervisor and Board Chair Janice Hahn in a prepared statement. Sonenshein said by the time she ran for supervisor, she had stopped asking for permission. Now women will run when they want to run.” “Waiting your turn causes disadvantages for women candidates. She actually set the model in not agreeing to wait her turn,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute of Government Affairs at Cal State L.A. Later, she beat the powerful Art Torres for the supervisorial seat in the newly drawn Latino district which was created due to a judge’s ruling. When Molina ran for state Assembly, she was told by the older, male Latino politicians to wait her turn. Solis also told her that the Metro board, on which Molina served for 23 years, recently dedicated the East LA Civic Center Station of the L (Gold) Line in her honor. County Board of Supervisors had renamed Grand Park as Gloria Molina Grand Park in recognition of her efforts to complete the now-popular green space in downtown Los Angeles. A week before she died, Solis visited her and told her that the L.A. Washington, surrounded by her family and close friends. I feel honored to have known her and the good work she did that we’ve carried on.” She was also invited to Molina’s house during Christmas for homemade tamales and baked goods. I’ll never forget her wearing her apron,” Solis said. “One time, I remember she sponsored an event on Whittier Boulevard. She also founded the historical museum LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, and the Eastside Arts Initiative. In her later years, she could be found near Olvera Street, knitting and quilting with ladies in the group she founded, The East LA Stitchers (or TELAS). “Her layers were very complicated, as a woman, a mother - and as a feminist before she even realized she was a feminist.” “There were many layers to Gloria,” said Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who Molina endorsed for supervisor. The journey of Jesús Gloria Molina is really one of a multi-layered individual, who would grill county bureaucrats one day, and another day would host a food fair with homemade tamales. The Montebello-born Mexican American brought more than a tough exterior to her longest-held position, as a county supervisor from 1991 until 2014. ![]() They called her tough as nails, fearless, salty and a role model for women and especially women of color seeking elected office.Ĭertainly, the memories from those who knew her go hand-in-hand with her political “firsts.” In 1982, first Latina elected to the state Assembly in 1987, first Latina elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1991, first Latina elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. ![]() Most describe Gloria Molina, who died from cancer at 74 on Mother’s Day, as the pioneering Chicana who served 32 years in elected office in Los Angeles, trounced her male opponents and fiercely stood up for her constituents.
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